이사야 28:16의 유대 사상

Our opening Midrash can therefore be understood thus. The portions that are dealing with these unpleasant blemishes are dear to G'd because of the fact that by heeding symptoms of imperfections in their respective characters, those afflicted can rehabilitate themselves. Others, noting what has happened are forewarned to reach their respective goals in life without becoming victims of the yetzer hara. The negative aspect of these portions is, of course, that inasmuch as these physical blemishes reflect defects of character and soul, man is revealed as morally inferior to the animals. But, since, as in the case of the verse quoted from Maleachi, the offerings brought by those afflicted with skin troubles when cured testifed to their moral rehabilitation, the whole subject matter is beloved by G'd. Leviticus 14,34, is not to be understood "as a result of when you come to the land of Canaan," but rather ,-as the Midrash Rabbah Leviticus 15, relates- the Jews who saw the houses with the stains were afraid of the nature of such a country. They were reassured by G'd that these phenomena were outgrowths of the former inhabitants' character defects who had been possessed of excessive greed for material possessions. In the case of the Jews, these stains would pinpoint hidden treasures for the benefit of the new owners. The meaning is similar to the verse in Exodus 15,26 "when you listen to My commandments, all the afflictions which I have visited upon Egypt, I will not afflict you with, I am the Lord your Healer." The proof that this is so, is in the separate treatment of Zav and Zavah. This draws our attention to the fact that each reflects different aberrations, and therefore requires individual methods of character rehabilitation. A male's state of seminal discharge is more serious than that of the female, since in the case of the female, a flux, though occurring at the wrong time of her menstrual cycle is a relatively minor departure from the norm. A male's flux reveals a more serious imbalance, and therefore requires more in the way of rehabilitation, such as immersion in mayim chayim, water from a well, not water stored in a pool. There is also a broader range of impurities which are communicated by a male afflicted with zav. All who contact him or what is his, become affected. The touch of an earthen vessel by a male zav communicates impurity to the entire earthen vessel, not merely to its external walls. Verse thirty one, at the conclusion of the whole legislation, clearly spells out that the objective is to stave off impurity which would endanger and jeopardise our national existence of holy soil.

[c]. little by little. We must know beforehand that the beginning of the Redemption will come gradually, a little at a time. According to our Sages of blessed memory (Yerushalmi: Brachot, ch. 1), the redemption of Israel will come about little by little, like the first rays of light before dawn, [Micah 7:8] "though I sit in darkness, the Lord is a light to me" and [Prov. 4:18] “a light that increases more and more until the day is established.” Therefore, one should start any deed connected with the beginning of the Redemption, even to a small extent, as is written: [Jer. 3:14] “one from a city, and two from a family. The Gaon states that there is an important rule that anything that will occur when the Redemption is complete, will begin gradually at its beginning. This is also true of rebuilding Jerusalem. One should begin, even with one stone. According to what is written, [Isa. 28:16] “behold I lay in Zion a foundation stone, a tried stone, ” for this stone will test the will to rebuild Jerusalem and to enlarge the site of its tent, and God will help us do this. We also asked the Gaon about what is revealed by the words, [Gen. 33:14] “I will direct it at my slow pace, ” that is, why must the beginning of the Redemption occur slowly? If it comes when it is a time of favor on the part of God in connection with gathering in the exiles of Israel, is the hand of God short [is it too difficult for God] to accomplish this task on a large scale all at once? The Gaon then explained to us that the period of the beginning of the Redemption will come into being if the Jews do not have the merit, which means when it does not come because of our righteousness. In that case, if the Redemption comes suddenly, then on the one hand it will be impossible to bear the suffering that will come with the quality of Din, as explained above. On the other hand, it will be impossible to accept the great light that will come all at once from the side of Lovingkindness. We must understand all this beforehand in connection with the practical work involved in gathering in the exiles.